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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 33.6294, -81.3073

Estimated forage here is better than about 52% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (65th percentile) and lowest in spring (55th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.24 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 58th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 30th, fall 21st)
  • South Carolina: 52nd percentile (spring 55th, summer 61st, fall 65th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 59th percentile (spring 70th, summer 60th, fall 76th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across South Carolina, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to May 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Cotton: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Cotton: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021-2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.